It can be very challenging to get a job as product manager, as most employers prefer to hire people who possess previous product management experience. Now that’s the tricky part – getting that product management experience when almost everyone won’t hire you unless you have one. But don’t you fret! There are ways to get the experience companies are looking for:

Work on Side Projects

Having a product management experience does not exactly have to mean that you were previously employed as product manager. You can gain experience in this field by getting involved in side projects, such as a case study, volunteering to help a startup business, or conducting research on how to improve an existing product or service. By being involved in good side projects, you will be able to develop the skills needed for a product manager role and be confident to share that you do have experience in this area during your job interview.

Develop the PM Mindset

If you happen to be employed and your work schedule does not permit you to take on any additional workload, you can make use of your current situation to prepare you for that product manager position. One way to do this is by getting involved in projects and taking on a lead role in managing different teams towards working on a specific deliverable and completing this by the set deadline. Prospective employers would most likely acknowledge this type of activity and see great potential in you if you are able to successfully complete these projects. If you want to build a career in product management, you will need to learn how to comprehend terms from different teams and translate these into a language that your audience will understand. And by completing such projects successfully, you are able to demonstrate your competence for a PM role.

Be Tech Savvy

You don’t have to be highly technical to become a great product manager. Look at Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. They became great product managers not because of an MBA, but because they had practical knowledge of current technologies and connected these with what underserved markets need. The key here is to have the passion to provide better solutions and be open to emerging technologies and how they can be applied to present problems. Fortunately, in this day and age, practically everything can be found online. Make use of the vast resources and product management training available online to gain competencies in this field.

Establish Networks

It pays to establish a good set of friends and mentors in the field, as they will be able to give you great first-hand inputs and advice that will prove to be valuable when you finally land your PM job. Twitter is a convenient means to get to know amazing product managers like Google’s Ken Norton, YouTube’s Hunter Walk, and Xanadu’s Mariya. By just following them on Twitter, you can gain an enormous wealth of knowledge and even exchange views on there, too.

While these tips do not guarantee that you will get that product manager job right away, they do prepare you for the career of your dreams and make you so much competent for the role. So, get started and good luck!

Author bio:

Michelle Rubio has been writing for SMEs across the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK for the last five years. She is a highly-experienced blogger and SEO copywriter, writing business blogs for various industries such as marketing, law, health and wellness, beauty, and education, particularly on product management training such as those offered by ProductSchool.com.